UNPROTECT FOR LOTUS VERSION 2.01 UPGRADE
This works if you are upgrading from a copy of Version 2 that was
unprotected using COPY 2PC, DISK MECHANIC or another program that
unprotected Version 2 by creating a file on your disk called 123.EXE.
123.EXE is a loader that, with a minor modification to the new 123.CMP,
will load and run the new version of 123.
I pulled this unprotect down from a BBS and it works fine. All I have
done here is to edit the instructions to clean them up and make them,
hopefully, more clear.
"Having just received the latest version of LOTUS 1-2-3, rel 2.01,
I found that Copy 2pc vers 3.03 and the version of Copywrite I had would
not copy the new protection scheme. Additionally, the "loader" program
for vers 2.0 that copy2 created (123.EXE) would not load the new version
123.CMP file. I kept getting "not enuf memory to load 123".
I was impatient about waiting for rel 3.08 of copy2 to dup the file,
so I started into alternatives.
I did some checking by disassembling the 123.exe file created
by copy2pc, to see what was going on. I found out that during the run
of 123.exe, it loads in 13 bytes from the 123.cmp file. It checks the
FIRST byte of that data to see if it is a Hex 1B. If not, it assumes
a bad copy, and jumps to code that says "too large for memory".
I looked at the 123.cmp of Vers 2.01 in debug, and found out that
the serial number is the first thing in the file, then 200 bytes
of zeros, then the actual program.
To unprotect v2.01, do the following:
1. Format a new diskette
2. Copy all files from the new V2.01 System Disk to the newly formatted
disk using "COPY *.* B:"
3. Remove your original V2.01 System Disk and put it away.
4. Erase 123.COM from your copy.
5. Copy 123.EXE from your old unprotected V2 disk to the new disk.
6. DEBUG 123.CMP (the new V2.01 version)
7. Subtract 200 hex bytes from the CS register (DE6 instead of FE6) by:
-R CX
:DE6
8. Write out the file with:
-W 300
I was actually surprised to find that the old 123.EXE loads
and runs the new version correctly. Version 2.01 must have been encrypted
with the same key as the old 2.0 version."
Be sure to not use your old 123.SET and 123.CNF files with the new version.
I tried this, and while the program worked, some of the bug fixes were lost
(I couldn't use negative arguments in @PV for example). It is best to run
INSTALL and create a new 123.SET. (When running INSTALL, DO NOT select the
option to install this on your hard disk! Just copy A:*.* down to your LOTUS
subdirectory, being sure to replace all of the old files.) In fact, you
should replace all of your V2 program files with the new ones.